Razor blade conditioning device



Aprii 16, 1935. c. 1. WILLCOX RAZOR BLADE CONDITIONING DEVICE OriginalFiled March 19 192 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 1935- c. L. WILLCOX l11,998,348

RAZOR BLADE CONDITIONING DEVICE Original Filed March 19 1926 g 3 s 2 JZm Patented Apr. 16, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT RAZOR BLADE. CONDITIONINGDEVICE.

Charles L. Will'cox, Atlanta, Ga.

Continuation of. application Serialv No. 9.5;936;

March 19; 1926. ThisapplicationNovember 12,. 7 1927, Serial No.'232,898.Renewed'August 110, p

The invention relates to improvements. in devices for conditioning razorblades, and. more. particularly to a device such. as shown and describedin my copending application Ser. No.

5 95,936 filed March 19, 1926, of which this application is-a division.

.An object of, the invention is to provide a device of. the above typewith means for holding-; the blade in fixed position and in contact:with 10 the rollers for honing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a-devieeof the abovetype wherein the holding means holds the blade flexed and the edgesthereof in firm contact with the conditioning rolls.

A further object of the invention is to provide. means of the above.type which maybe usedfor bringing about a pressure on. the blade being;honed directly in the region of the honing'of the same. v

A further object of the invention is fooprovide a device in which aresilient pressure is. maintained upon the blade edges being honed. thatis greater than attainable by the elasticity of the blade itself.

The invention has been presented on the-accompanying drawings intwoillustrative formsof execution, with these and other objects in. view aswill appear in the course of the following specification. One of theseforms is of a sub- :20 stantially rigid type, while the other is afolding.

device.

In the accompanying drawings: v

Figure l is a perspective view of a conditioning device according tothis invention as em- 35 played with double edged blades of the Gillettetype, and having arigid frame.

Fig. 2 isa cross: section on line 2.-2 of Fig. 3-, on a larger scale. s

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on line 3-3 of. Fig. 2, on the. samelarge scale.

Fig. 4 is a. detail of the end assembly of the device.

Fig. 4a is a section on the line la-4a of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a modified form. em- ;5 ploying acollapsibleframe.

Fig. 6 is an end view of the device of Fig. 5, on a larger scale. I

Fig. '7 is a section on line 1- of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Fig. 5.

50 Inthe forms of execution of Figs. 1 to 4d a rigid frame has supportedthereon. the several. dressing surfaces, which frame is made from sheetmetal blanks punched and folded into the shape represented. A base plateIt has formed 55- therewith the flat flanges H and the projecting.

lateral .members-JZ which: at. their ends are rei spectively'foldedinward toward each other and present the portions l3, l3j in. alinement;An end plate i5. isplaced upon. these members. I3.- and is provideditself with the rearwardly ex- 5;

- tending blade: support. 2t and-the belt. supports 23, 23a, 23b. Itwillbe noted that the-base plate I is formed. integral with; the flangesl l and members; t2, while: the: endplate I is formed; integral with,the-fblade support 2-.land the belt supports 23,. 23a; 23b. The: endplate [5: is held rig-idly with respectto, the members l3 by a U-shapedbolt. 61. This bolt passes through apertures adjacent the ends of.the base plate It and extends inside of. and in parallelism: with the15, projecting members. $2 and finally through apertures in the portionst3.- and. the end platel5. and is: secured. rig-idly in place by;the-"nuts I11: 011. its threaded: ends.) a w 'A finishing dressing,stone t8 having a flat top 20.- surface is provided'with. a. reduced;-end or roller which is adaptedto extend; underneathv the flange H. Thehousing. 180: has a peripheral groove: [9 extending; around; thr'eesidesfor the reception of. a U-bolt Hi. on the: exterior: of. the

housing: and. this, forms; a; flange; on the interior of the housingwhichsupports the dressing stone. The housing Hlais provided. with ashort lip 18!) centrally thereof; and at. its; upper. edge. which isadapted toengage: arecess; |:8'cin thestone I8. 30. This holds the.outer end of the: stone in they housing and. the reduced portionextending underneath the .fiange holds theainnerend of the stone in thehousing; Thus it is that: the stone rests firmly on theflange.andisheldzin place on the housing when the-parts are assembled. Thishousing Ila is further: provided at theend received within. the. flangesH with tongues 21a: extending out: of the plane-of: the. metal housingto fit over and. support a. Isl-shaped, member 2100, 40. Hoof: springwire for the purposeindicated hereinafter. It. will be understood that.when the u-shaped' bolt I6 is in. position andjits nuts l-l have beentightened; down; this bolt; draws the housing l=8a into a rigid.position between the flanges H and thus: holds the dressingstone l8 initsproper position: and by the rabbet 20- of the stone l8, the stone isheld in position by the upper flange II with its top surface above thetop surface of the flange I l, sothat in dressing a '50. blade inthestone l8, the blade does not come in contact with the metal flange l lThe blade support or brace arm 2| and the belt supports 23, 23a, 23b arepreferably formed integral withthe end plate I5, and extend rear-. 55.,

ward and are joined to the base plate III and the flanges II as shown inFig. 3, preferably by soldering or welding so that the frame constitutedby the base plate II and the end plate I5 and their integral parts forma single structure of great strength and rigidity.

The dressing rollers 24, 25 are loosely mounted on the shafts 26,'andare composed of abrasive material and present continuous rigidunyielding surfaces for honing the blade. In devices already constructedI have employed rollers formed from natural and artificial stone, andhave found that such materials as carborundum and a material calledartificial slate by reason of its dark slaty color and the material ofwhich it.

is composed, are excellently. adapted to the purpose: but it will beunderstood that the device is not limited to such rollers but that anyother abrasive agent may be employed, and preferably one providing anon-yielding surface for operation upon the edge of the blade. Theroller surfaces are cylindrical, and have been illustrated in thedrawings of Figs. 1 to 4 as being formed with relieving grooves 25gextending spirally about the respective rollers. It will be understoodhowever that from certain aspects of the invention a smooth roller maybe used.

The shafts 26 for these rollers pass through bushings 28a placed in therollers and fastened thereto so that a metal to metal bearing is formed.

The shafts 26 are journaled in apertures of the base plate III and ofthe members I3 and the end plate I5, and are held rigidly in position asshown in Fig. 4. In this figure a latch 265:: has an aperture adjacentone end fitting around the bolt I6 beneath the nut I'I thereof. Itsother end is formed to fit within a notch 2611. in the-end of the shaft26. It 'will be understood thatwhen the nut I1 is loosened, the latch26a: can be rocked counter-clockwise about the' bolt I6 until the shaft26 is free. The shaft 26 may'then be withdrawn from its journals andfrom the bushing 26a so that the rollers may be immediately withdrawn.Whenthe respective roller is replaced in position, the shaft'26 'maybe'reseated, the latch 26: rotated back to the positionshown in Fig. 4,and then when the nut I'I is-tightened down, the latch 25a; will be heldfixedly'intposition.

Each of these rollers 24 and 25 has associated therewith a ratchet wheel240: or 25a, which as shown in Fig. 2, is in operative engagement with arespective pawl 24b or 251). The respective pawls 24b, 25b are journaledabout the arms of the U-bolt I6, and are limited intheir relativerocking movements by engagementwith the projecting members I2 of the"frame. It will be understood that the pawls engage around the bolt I6for more than half of its'periphe'ry. Along its length, the bolt I 6 isprovided with a cut-away portion IIia (Figs. 2 and 3): which permits thepawl tobe withdrawn from the bolt I6 by sliding the pawl along the boltuntil'the notch IGais reached. It will be understood that normally thepawl is retained against such sliding movement by its engagement betweenthe base plate III on the one hand and the projecting portions ofrespective' rollers 24 and 25'onthe other hand, as shown in Fig. 2. 7

The bearing bushing 26a for each roller extends beyond the end of theroller at the rearward end, that is the end adjacent the base, andmounted on this projecting end of the bushing is a washer 25a: and aratchet 25a. The ratchet and thewasher fit tightly on the bushing so asto turn with the bushing and the bushing turns with the roller. As afurther means for joining the ratchet and the roller I have provided ananchor pin Z. This anchor pin passes through the ratchet and into theroller and lies between the bushing and the outer surface of the roller.The bushing at the other end of the roller also projects in order toform a reduced bearing to hold the end of the roller away from themember I3. This reduces the frictional contact between the roller andthe member I3. This is all clearly shown in Figure 3 of the drawings.

A U-shaped spring member 2141., 211) extends through small apertures inthe base plate I0 and has its ends curled slightly toward the centerplane of the structure, and received within notches on the respectivepawls 24b, 251), as shown in Fig. 2. It is preferred to have the forwardends of this U-shaped spring bent inward as shownin Fig. 2 to assist inretaining the pawls in their proper position. These spring ends 21a, 21bserve to force the respective pawls into engagernent with the respectiveratchets.

The upper surface of the braces or belt supports 23, 23a, 23b arerounded so as to smoothly guide the belt 28 with respect to the frame.These belt supports are in such relationship to the lower generatricesof the rollers 24 and 25 that the belt must pass in 'a zigzag directionfrom brace to roller and back to another brace, whereby a sufficientdriving friction is obtained for the purpose intended.

The driving strap or belt 28 is passed over th brace 23a, beneath theroller 24, over brace 23, beneath the roller 25 and out over brace 23.It

will be understood that one end of the driving strap is customarilysecured to a wall hook or the like and the other is held in theoperators hand during use. This'driving strap 28 may be of leather,fabric or other flexible material: it does not come into contact withthe razor blade and hence any such material may be employed.

The brace H has upstanding lugs 30 thereon to fit the central aperturesof double-edged razor blades of the Gillette type, in the particularillustration represented: when a blade is first laid about these lugs30, it rests at its cutting edges upon the dressing rolls and is free ofthe brace 2I itself. Each of "the lugs 30 has a rearwardly directednotch 30a adjacent the brace 2I; the upper walls of the notches beingsubstantially in a plane parallel to the brace 2I and below the plane ofthe upper surface of a razor blade intended to engage therewith whensuch razor blade is first placed about the lugs 3|].

A spring retaining plunger 32 is mounted at the end of a straight wirespring 33. The spring plunger 32 is guided in an opening 34 in the brace2|, and the spring 33 extends beneath and substantially parallel to thebrace 2I and is secured at its forward end 35 to the lower surface ofthe brace 2 I, for example by soldering or welding. The forward upperedge of the plunger 32 is beveled away at 36, and the forwardsubstantially vertical edge of the plunger 32 is spaced respectivelyfrom the vertical walls of the notches 30a by distances equivalent tothe respective distances from the end of a blade to the correspondingedge of the central apertures therein.

It will be seen that the device is simple and compact, and that by theassembly it is possible to remove and replace the rollers and beltswithout dismounting the U-bolt I6. I

The operation of the represented device in dressing a double edgedsafety razor blade of the flexible type referred to is as follows: adouble edgedbladeB is placed. about the lugs '30, with its edges restingupon the cylindrical surfaces of the rollers 24 and 25. In'the-preferredoperation, a second and similar blade BB placed over this firstblade,and-the. stack of blades'thus formed. is pressed. downward along itscentral axial line until the lower surface of thes'lower blade B issubstantiallyin.contact with theupper. surface of the brace 21. Duringthis' operation the rearward end of the lower blade forces the spring.plunger 32. downward against. the resiliency of its spring 33'. .Afinger/of the operator is then employed to slide the. stack of bladesforward in a direction parallel to the brace 2| where-- byv they areengaged in the notches 30a. until finally the rearward end of the stack'ofblades is disengaged from the plunger 32, which: fliesxupwardbehindthem and holds thestack of blades fixedly in-positionas shown in Fig.2;so that the resiliency of both blades provides a working pressurerelatively hetween the lower surfaceof the cutting edges of the lowerblade and the-respective dressing rolls 24a, 2511,. It is preferred tohave the upper wall of the respective notches sea at a distance from theupper surface of the brace 2 i which is greater than the thickness of.two blades, so that the sliding action is free, and whereby it ispossible to produce; a slightly greater curvature of the blades afterbeing placed in the device-l by a finger pressure along thecentralradial lineof the top blade.

By the employment ofsuch a stack of blades, it is possible toobtainagreater pressure at the surfaces being honed than can be gotten with asin- 1 gle blade, having'due regard to the'proper' angularpresentationof the dressingrollers, and tothe strains upon the bladesthemselves. Itis evident that although astack of two blades is employedillustratively, the device may in practicebe manufactured for a stack ofany number, as anyperson skilled in the art can calculate the properanglesand pressures after having given the size of andspecificproperties of the material of the blades.

The operator then draws thedriving belt or strap 28' taut and movesthedevice along the strap from one end toward the other, and back again;While the deviceismoving toward. the left in the position shown inFig.2, the roller N is held againstrotation by the pawl 2 lb-inengage-- mentwith the ratchet wheel 24a. The roller 25 is, however, free to move,since its ratchet wheel and pawl have a permissible movement withrespect to each other: it therefore is rotated by the strap 28 and thesurface of thisdressing roller isso moved, in this illustrative example,that the direction of dressing is fromthe center of the blade toward thecutting edge, and it will be-understood that the roller will tend toproduce a concavity in the safety razor blade at its'edge. As the devicemoves in the opposite direction or toward the right in Fig. 2, theroller 25 will be held stationary by its pawl 25b and ratchet 25a andthe roller 24 will be freeto rotate, andthis inturn will then produce aconcavity. on the same side of the razor blade but at the opposite edge.

It is found in practice that two or three strokes in each directionwillrecondition the usual blade. Thereupon the spring plunger 3-2 isdepressed, and the stack of blades ispushedrearwardly with the fingeruntil disengaged from the notches sea: the stack is then removed,turned. upside down and replaced, and the outer surfaceof: the blade BBis now-dressed, under the resilient pressure of both blades. The stackis then removed again,

and theouter surfaces brought together; and theformerlyqinne'rsurfaces-are dressed similarly.

The razor blades have now beenhoned to concavity, andiare ready. forfinishing. This is accomplishedindividually on a flat finishing surfaceof the stone l8, by placing the flexible blade thereon as at Baand'bearing down with the fingers upon the blade adjacent its edges. Ithas been found'in'practice that, by? moving the blade lightly about uponthe flat surface, the edges are quickly brought to an excellentcondition for smooth shaving, and'that a true and. accurate cutting.edge is produced;

The device may also be'employed, with. or without the brace 23, byreciprocating the device on .a suitable surface such as the palm of thehand, so that the surfacecomes into contact, with the rollerstosuccessively actuate' them in the desired directions;

. Inthe-modified-formsof Figs. 5 to. 8, the assembly of the base plate"II! with the flanges H and:

side-members; I2 is. substantially the same as before: together with theprovision ofthe end plate 15. with the respective. belt guides or braces23, 23a, 23b, and the blade holder. 2'! with the lugs 39. The U -shapedbolt Him is of the same general type except shorter,,and in thismodified form likewise passes through the end plate 15 and. the baseplate ID. The ro1lers2 4,25 are'received as before on shafts 26 and areprovided. with the respective ratchets 24a, 25a engaging with'the pawls24b, 25b. The belt 28 is passed with respect tothe belt guides-,23-,,23a; 23b and the rollers 24 and 25 as before; A ring R is provided atthe end for suspending thedevice from a Walliho'ok or nail whennotin-usez. v A a @111. this modified form,.however,: the flanges H andbase'plateulll. receive; an end plate'Ml having a groove 4| therein forthe reception of the bight of the U-bolt I633. This plate 40 likewisehas the. downwardly extending fingers with prongs 43 at the ends thereofto be received within notches in the'finishingstone l8x to hold thisstone in position. Theendstructurezcomprising the end'pl'ate I5 islikewise formed with downwardly extending fingers 44 having prongs toengage notches in the other end of the finishing. stone-l 8:13. In thisway, the stone l8a: is 'supported rigidly on the botttorn of the deviceagainst. movement in any direction, and may be released bydisengagementcf the bolt l6r; which in this case as before serves toholdthevariousparts together; It will be noted thatthe stone'restson thebraces '23, 23a, 23b and thus. receives a further assurance againstdislocation. g

The handle in the present modified form comprises-a strip of 'metalbent; at its ends into parallelism with the adjacent part. of the metalas shown at 5!! invFig. 5. The. general shape of the handle is that of.a W' with the bight 5| passing across the rear of the devicewhen closed(Fig. 5). When. the handle is drawnout to. theposition 52 shown indotted lines in Fig. 5, the end portions engage around and over theextended guide loops 5,3,and by their resilient grasping of these loopshold thehan'dle in extended position. The guide loops 53 are formed byaband of material 5 5 located between the flanges I (Figs. 7 and 8) andheld fixedly thereto by the location of the side members of the handle5| between the loops 53 and the guide plate 55 formed by bending theouter ends of the transfer stiffener 56 which extends across the'rear ofthe device in parallelism to the base plate I0;

In operation, when thedevice is removed from its box, the handle 5| isdrawn out into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. When thehandle is drawn completely out, these ends 50 engage resiliently withthe loops 55a to hold the handle 5| in position. One end of the strap 28may now be engaged with a wall hook and the other held in the hand andthe device drawn back and forth as before. To insure a firm grip of thehand in operating the machine over the driving belts the rebent ends areknurled or roughened.

When it is desired to replace the device in its box, the handle isforced inward into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 5. The strap28 adjacent the metal end clip 60 is then passed through the rebent end50 adjacent the roller 24 (Fig. 6) and the strap drawn down so that themetal clip 68 rests lightly on the roller 24. The other end of the strapas it projects from the brace 23b is turned downward and wrapped aroundthe lower face of the finishing stone l8a: and then passed entirelyaround the device, through the metal ring 6| which is pivoted in themetal end clip 60. The portion of the belt adjacent the other rebent end60 is passed beneath this end so as to hold the belt fixedly inposition. It is preferred to have at this end of the belt a similarmetal clip 62 receiving a cord 63. This cord is then passed through thering 6|, which may be bent upward into a vertical position as shown indotted lines in Fig. 6, for this purpose. The middle of the cord 63 isthen folded over and around the ring 6| (see Fig. 5) and then the ringSi is forced into the position shown in Fig. 6 when the belt is heldfixedly in position protecting both rollers and a large portion of thefinished surface |8:c. This is a particularly convenient form ofwrapping the device for transportation.

It will be understood that these illustrations are not limitations ofthe invention, and that the latter may be employed in many ways withinthe scope of the appended claims. I

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is: l

1. In a conditioning device for razor blades, a frame having a base andan end with supports therebetween, a rotatable dressing roller journaledin said frame, a ratchet fixed to said roller, a blade alining member tosupport a blade in working position with respect to said roller,'a U-bolt passing through said base and end to clamp the same together, apawl pivotally mounted on said U-bolt and having a notch eccentricto-its axis, and a spring projecting from said base plate substantiallyparallel to the axis of the pawl and engaged in said notch, said springmaintaining said pawl in engagement with said ratchet.

2. In a conditioning device for razor blades, a frame having a base, arotatable dressing roller journaled in said frame, a ratchet of lesserdiameter than said roller and fixed thereto adjacent said base, a bladealining member to support a blade in working position with respect tosaid roller, a pivot member upstanding from said base and having a notchtherein at a distance from said base, a pawl mounted on said pivot andhaving a portion thereof cut away complemental to said notch andextendingless than 180 around the periphery of said pivot, said pawlbeing maintained in engagement with said ratchet between the end of theroller and the base, said pawl being movable from its operative positionalong the said pivot to the location of said notch so that the pawl maybe withdrawn from the pivot at the notch.

3. In a conditioning device for razor blades, a

frame comprising separable elements, a shaft passing through aperturesin said frame, a conditioning roller journaled on said shaft, a bladealining member to support a blade in working position with respect tosaid roller, a clamping bolt passing through said members, a latchpivoted on said bolt and having one end adapted to enter a notch in saidshaft to secure the same against withdrawal from said frame, the nut ofsaid bolt drawing said members together and holding said latch againstmovement.

1 4. In a conditioning device for razor blades, a frame, blade holdingand conditioning devices mounted on said frame, loops on said frame, aU- shaped handle slidable in said loops between collapsed and extendedpositions, and rebent ends on said handle to frictionally engage withthe loops to prevent removal of said handle from the frame and to holdsaid handle in extended position.

5. In a conditioning device for razor blades having a rigid frame, arotatable dressing roller journalled in said frame, and a blade aliningmember mounted on said frame, including upstanding lugs to be receivedin the central holes of a double-edged razor blade, said lugs beingprovided with undercuts affording an overhanging ledge to engage theblade and hold it in contact with the dressing roller, the combinationof maintaining means to hold the blade engaged in the undercutsincluding a resiliently mounted member to prevent endwise disengagingmovement of the blade'when engaged in said undercuts, said member beingadapted by its resilient mounting to move to a position such that theblade may be slid endwise into and out of the undercuts for placing orremoving the blade with respect to said upstanding lugs.

6. In a conditioning device .for razor blades having a rigid frame,parallel rotatable dressing rollers journalled in said frame, a bridgemounted on'said frame and located between said rollers, and upstandinglugs mounted on said bridge and provided with undercuts whereby to holda double-edged blade with central apertures in position upon saidrollers, the combination of a plunger and spring mounting means to holdthe plunger normally in position above the bridge, said spring mountingmeans being located relatively beneath the bridge so that the uppersurface of the bridgeis clear of incumbrance, said plunger when in itsnormal position being adapted to engage with the end of the bladewhereby to prevent withdrawal of the blade from the undercuts in saidlugs, and adapted when depressed against the action of its springmounting means to be free of the blade whereby the blade may bewithdrawn from the undercuts.

7. In a conditioning device for razor blades having a rigid frame,parallel rotatable dressing rollers journalled in said frame, a bridgemounted on said frame and located between said rollers, and upstandinglugs mounted on said bridge and provided with undercuts each affordingan overhanging ledge, said lugs being adapted to pass through thecentral apparatus of a double-edged razor blade and hold the same inalignment upon said rollers, the said ledges being located below thetangent plane of the rollers, whereby the razor blade when in positionis held flexed, the combination of a plunger and spring mounting meansto hold the plunger normally in position above the bridge, said springmounting, means being located relatively beneath the bridge so that theupper surface of thebridgeis clear of incumbrance, said plunger when inits normal position being adapted to engage with the end of the bladewhereby to prevent withdrawal of the blade from the undercuts in saidlugs, and adapted when depressed against the action of its springmounting means to be free of the blade whereby the blade may bewithdrawn from the undercuts.

8. In a device for reconditioning razor blades, a frame, a pair ofparallel abrading rolls journalled in said frame, a blade holdingsupport on said frame between the rolls and means carried by said bladeholding support for clamping a plurality of superposed blades under abowed stress with the opposite cutting edges of the lowermost blade inappropriate bearing pressure respectively against the'peripheries ofsaid rolls, whereby the cutting edges are reconditioned upon rotation ofthe rolls.

9. In a device for reconditioning razorblades, a frame, a pair ofparallel abrading rolls journalled in said frame, a stationary bladeholding support on said frame between the rolls and means for centrallyand rigidly clamping a razor blade on said holding support under a bowedstress with the opposite cutting edges of the razor blade under bearingpressure respectively against the peripheries of said rolls, and a'bladeproviding a reinforcement for the razor blade and correspondinglytherewith clamped upon said support.

CHARLES L. WILLCOX.

